To see the most immediately obvious change concerning schools in the area, students need look no further than their calendars. New state legislation allows school districts to begin classes as early as Aug. 15. Most schools in the area are taking advantage of the ability to start early despite many districts making up days missed due to inclement weather well into June during the 2010-11 school year.

"You can't do much in August anyway. The kids are ready to get back to school -a lot for more of the social aspect -but we sneak education in there with it."

Brad Spikes, superintendent of Western Yell Schools, pointed out the advantage of starting early in relation to inclement weather days.

"It's not as evident at our school, because we had snow days built in to our schedule," he said. "But some schools missed a lot of days and had to go through the second week of June, which gives them just seven weeks before starting back again. I think starting early will be to our advantage in the long run."

Lamar was one of the few schools not taking advantage of the Aug. 15 start date, opting instead to begin Aug. 17.

"In years past, we've been starting on Thursday or sometime mid-week," Lamar superintendent Roy Hester said. "We wanted to stay in that mode, so there was no sudden jolt or shock to the teachers."

Mike Hernandez, first-year superintendent at Danville, said he was expecting to see that kind of shock in his teachers when they reported for in-service this week. He even went to the extent of hosting a pep rally complete with the senior high cheerleaders to start the week off.

"I kind of expected the teachers to be a little tired or unenergetic coming back to school, like they didn't have a summer, but from what I've seen, they're fired up. ... Some of them had to dance, including me, which was probably pretty bad," Hernandez said.

Russellville superintendent Randall Williams said he was pleased with the readiness displayed by Russellville teachers.

"Based upon our beginning of the year staff meetings, our certified staff is very upbeat and very positive," Willliams said. "Everyone is looking forward to a great school year. I was very impressed with the attitudes of all of our staff. We're ready to go."

New rules

Several school districts have new policies in place as the school year begins, many stemming from legislation.

Hernandez and Spikes discussed the challenge of enforcing new dress code requirements, such as a rule banning saggy pants and low-cut blouses.

"It bans blouses that reveal an excessive amount of cleavage, but I don't know who is going to determine how much is too much. I'm concerned with how that will be enforced," Spikes said.

"It's kind of one of those rules you don't like the vagueness of because it's one of those 'How do measure that?' deals," Hernandez said.

Also at Danville, no hats will be allowed on campus, and bottled water will be allowed in classrooms at the high school to ensure students stay hydrated, Hernadez said.

Hester said Lamar has a new absence policy, abolishing the unexcused-excused format.

"Students are allowed 10 absences per semester (with no distinction between excused or unexcused)," Hester said. "It's been a problem all over the state. Hopefully this will curb our absenteeism."

Hester said special consideration would be given to students with prolonged illnesses or other extenuating circumstances. A warning letter will be sent to the student's parents after a fifth absence. After eight absences, another letter will be sent to the parents and the prosecuting attorney will be notified. Once a student misses an 11th day in a semester, he or she will not receive credit for the course or courses that semester.

New classes and technology

Atkins superintendent Boyce Watkins said the Atkins campus now has wireless Internet capabilities.

"We're completely wireless," Watkins said. "With about any device, you can connect to the Internet almost anywhere on campus. We're trying to make our campus modern and take full advantage of available technology."

Atkins will also offer a new course entitled "digital communications," which Watkins said encompasses video editing, along with other aspects.

Russellville High School has several new courses this year, including the state's first biomedical sciences high school course, marine biology, digital engineering and two new drama courses -technical design and theater performance.

Clarksville now offers netbooks for each student in seventh to 12th grade.

"We're going one-to-one on computers. Each student will have a netbook. We're working with a group from University of Oklahoma on staff development so we can utilize that technology," Wyatt said.

"The kids are excited about it," he continued. "They embrace technology. Now, just because a kid can text with one hand doesn't mean they can upload and share documents automatically, but they are more willing to learn. I think they'll take to it."

Facilities

Russellville has seen a flurry of construction in the past year, including a whirlwind renovation of its business and family and consumer sciences area at the high school.

"We basically tore out everything that was there and replaced it with all new facilities and technology," Williams said. "New furniture, new everything. It turned out nice."

The Center for the Performing Arts at the high school is expected to be complete in October.

Safe rooms and art and science classrooms at Center Valley Elementary, Oakland Heights Elementary and Crawford Elementary and a safe room at Sequoyah Elementary are complete. Safe rooms at Russellville Middle School and Upper Elementary Fifth Grade (UE5G) are expected to be completed around Christmas. Safe rooms at London Elementary and Dwight Elementary are expected to be completed by November. Construction of a safe room at Russellville Junior High will begin this year.

Hector superintendent Walt Davis said the Hector Elementary building was re-floored during the summer.